Delivery and display system

ABSTRACT

A distribution and display system is provided that comprises a container comprising an enclosure for a plurality of cylindrical items. The container has a first and a second side retaining walls, a rear retaining wall coupled to said first and second side retaining walls, a front side having a front opening, and an inclined floor, wherein an item stored within said container will be urged toward said front opening due to the inclined floor. Upon arrival at the retail store, the container can be used as a display case to display the material on the store floor. In an exemplary embodiment, the containers are stackable such that a plurality of containers can be used to build a complete free-standing sales exhibit. Also, the walls of the container are preferably formed from a rigid wire structure.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of the filing date ofprovisional Application No. 60/604,997, filed Aug. 27, 2004, which isherein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of distribution and display of itemsstored in a cylindrical form, and more specifically, to a new and usefuldelivery and display system for distributing and displaying decorativematerials.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Decorative ribbon, cord, tape, and other similar items are often woundin a rotary fashion (e.g., onto a spool or around a core) to facilitatespace-efficient storage and access to the material by a user. During thedistribution and sale of such decorative items, many wound lengths ofmaterial are often packaged into a single crate or box for shipping tothe retail outlet. Upon reaching the retail store, the material hastraditionally been removed from the shipping crate and displayed to theconsumers either in a bin through which a customer can sift through thevarious offerings, or alternatively on shelves where the variouscontainers of material are stacked.

Distributing and displaying decorative materials in this manner hasseveral shortcomings. Unpacking the material upon arrival at the storeand arranging it in a display bin or on a shelf necessitates time andeffort at the retail store, thus resulting in cost to the store.Additionally, bins and shelves are not ideal display means for thesetypes of items. Bins may be messy and can make it difficult for acustomer to locate a particular item. Shelves allow for the items to bestacked more orderly, but access to the items not located on the frontof a shelf is often difficult. Furthermore, the amount of shelvingrequired will vary depending upon the amount of inventory carried by thestore at any given time. Thus, at times there may be insufficient shelfspace available and at other times there may be empty space on theshelves. If a store has completely exhausted its inventory, time andeffort must be expended to disassemble and remove the shelving or binsonce they are no longer required to avoid using valuable space in thestore. Further effort may need to be expended to re-assemble the bins orshelves at a later time when additional inventory arrives. Theseshortcomings have been further exacerbated by the popularity ofwarehouse stores. Such stores generally display large quantities ofmaterial at any given time, thus requiring a large number of displaybins or display shelves.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A distribution and display system is provided that comprises a containerhaving a framework that is preferably built of lightweight, durablewire. The container is capable of storing material wrapped in acylindrical form during shipping from the manufacturer to the retailstore. Upon arrival at the retail store, the container can be used as adisplay case to display the material on the store floor. The containeris stackable such that a plurality of containers can be used to build acomplete free-standing sales exhibit. The container in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present invention allows for automaticreplenishment of the front row of material to which the customer hasaccess. For example, when a customer removes a container from the frontrow of spools in the display container, a container residing behind theremoved container will move forward into the front row.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in thedrawings a form which is presently preferred; it being understood, thatthis invention is not limited to the precise arrangements andinstrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a display container in accordance with a firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention, shown in an empty state.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the display container of FIG. 1, having aseries of rolls of decorative ribbon positioned therein.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the display container of FIG. 1, shown in anempty state.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the display container of FIG. 1 shown inan empty state, and with a portion of the floor removed.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the display container of FIG. 1, shownfilled with rolls of decorative ribbon.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a display case comprising a plurality ofcontainers.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a multi-layered container in accordance with asecond exemplary embodiment of the present invention, shown filled withrolls of decorative ribbon.

FIG. 8 is a prospective view of the container of FIG. 7 shown partiallyfilled with rolls of decorative ribbon.

FIG. 9 is a prospective view of the container of FIGS. 7 and 8 shown ina filled state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals identify likeelements, components, subassemblies, etc., FIGS. 1-6 illustrate adistribution and display system in accordance with a first exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 7-9 illustrate a displaysystem in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 1-5 illustrate a single container used in a distribution anddisplay system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. The container 100 comprises a wire frame having a front 102,a back 302, a top 402, a bottom 404, and two sides 220, 221. The front,back, top, bottom and two sides of the container form an enclosure inwhich material, such as rolls of decorative ribbon, are stored (see,e.g., FIG. 2). Referring to FIG. 1, a front view of the displaycontainer is shown. The front 102 is defined by a plurality of wiremembers, such as a first and second side members 103 a, 103 b, a topside member 111, and a bottom member 109. A retaining member 107 extendsacross the front opening 102, extending from the first side member 103 ato the second side member 103 b. The retaining member 107 divides thefront 102 of the container 100, creating a front opening 106. The sizeof the front opening 106 is large enough such that material (e.g., rollsof decorative ribbon) stored within the container 100 can be removed bya customer via the front opening 106. The retaining member 107 serves tokeep the material properly positioned in the container 100 until acustomer intentionally removes one or more rolls of material. Theretaining member prevents a round roll of material from rolling out ofthe front of the container 100.

Referring to FIG. 2, a side view 221 of the container 100 is shown. Eachside portion 220, 221 of the container 100 is a mirror image of theopposite side, thus only one side is illustrated. The side portion 221is defined by the side member 103 b, a rear member 205 b, a bottommember 209 and a top member 201. A side retaining member 203 extendsfrom the side member 103 b to the rear member 205 b. The side retainingmember 203 prevents material stored within the container 100 fromexiting through the side face 221 of the container 100.

Referring to FIG. 3, a rear view of the container 100 is shown. The rearor back 302 of the container is defined by two rear members 205 a, 205b, a top rear member 301 and a rear bottom member 303. A rear retainingmember 305 extends from the first rear member 205 a to the second rearmember 205 b. The rear retaining member 305 prevents material storedwithin the container 100 from exiting through the rear of the container100.

A floor 204 is formed at the bottom of the inside of the containerenclosure. In an exemplary embodiment, the floor 204 resides on a floorsupport grid 206. The floor support grid 206 is shown in FIG. 4 (with aportion of the floor 204 removed) comprises a series of wires thatextend between two sides 220, 221. The floor support grid 206 is coupledto the bottom member 209 on each side of the container via one or moresupport members 207 a, 207 b (see FIG. 2). The floor 204 is preferably asolid layer placed on the support grid 206 upon which items storedwithin the enclosure rest. In an exemplary embodiment, the floor 204 iscomprised of cardboard. Cardboard provides several advantages. It islightweight and inexpensive, and easily disposable. Alternatively,however, other materials could be used. The floor 204 could beconstructed from a thin plastic layer, or could comprise wire bycreating the floor support grid 206 using a high number of wires suchthat the grid 206 actually becomes the floor 204.

The material such as spools of ribbon contained within the container canbe divided into columns using a series of dividing members 115 a, 115 b,115 c, 115 d, 115 e, 115 f, 115 g. In an exemplary implementation asshown in FIGS. 1-4, seven dividing members are used to create eightcolumns for material. However, alternative configurations could containvarious numbers of dividing members depending upon the number of columnsdesired and the width of the material to be stored. The dividing members115 a, 115 b, 115 c, 115 d, 115 e, 115 f, 115 g extend vertically fromthe retaining member 107 for a short distance and then the dividingmembers bend approximately 90 degrees and extend to the back of thecontainer where they are coupled to a rear retaining member 307. In anexemplary embodiment, the dividing members 115 a, 115 b, 115 c, 115 d,115 e, 115 f, 115 g are formed in a fixed position. Alternativeembodiments also include coupling the dividing members to the frontretaining member 107 and the rear retaining member 307 by, for example,using a sliding ring mounting fixture. This would allow the retainingmembers to be adjusted to various widths depending on the width of thevarious materials to be stored in the container 100.

In an exemplary embodiment, the floor 204 is slanted forward, having arear portion 208 raised with respect to a front portion 210 (see, e.g.,FIG. 5). Because of this configuration, gravity tends to cause materialstored in the container to move towards the front 102 of the container100. For example, referring to FIG. 5, eight columns of cylindricallyshaped items are shown in the container. The forward-most item 501 of acolumn is prevented from exiting the container 100 by retaining member107. By using the slope of the floor 204, the items stored in thecontainer are urged forward toward the retaining member 107. Theforward-most item 501 of each row rests against the retaining member107, and each item behind the forward-most item rests against an item infront of it (e.g., a second item 503 rests against the forward-most item501, a rear item 505 rests against the second item 503). When a customerdesires to remove an item, he or she grasps one of the forward-mostitems 501 from any column and lifts it such that it clears the retainingmember 107 and can be removed through the front opening 106. The item503 that resides immediately behind the item which has been removed willroll forward to replace the removed item at the front of the enclosure.The remaining item 505 in the row from which an item has been removedwill then roll (in the case of the cylindrical rolls shown in thefigures as exemplary) forward. In this manner, the front row of items iscontinuously replenished.

Referring again to FIG. 4, landing portions 407 a, 407 b, 407 c, 407 dare located in the corners of the top 402 of the container 100. The top402 is comprised of top front member 111, two top side members 201 a,201 b, and top rear member 303. Comers are formed where the two top sidemembers 201 a, 201 b join the top front member 111 and the top rearmember 303. Landing portions 407 a, 407 b, 407 c, 407 d are formed ineach corner comprising a flat surface. In an exemplary embodiment, thelanding portions 407 a, 407 b, 407 c, 407 d are triangular in shape andare formed of metal, although it is understood that alternativeconfigurations could also be used. The landing portions provide a flat,firm surface to allow for several individual containers to be stacked ontop of each other. In this manner, a complete free-standing display casecan be constructed from a series of containers 100.

Alignment cups 409 a, 409 b are formed around two or more landingportions. The alignment cups 409 a, 409 b are raised portionssurrounding the outside edges of selected landing portions. Thealignment cups facilitate the stacking of several containers by allowingthe containers to be easily aligned during the stacking process and bypreventing two or more stacked containers from sliding or shifting withrespect to each other after stacking. In an exemplary embodiment, twoalignment cups are included on the container 100, with the two alignmentcups located on opposite corners of the top of the container withrespect to each other. While it has been found that two cups provideadequate stability of a display case comprising several stackedcontainers, alternative embodiments may include alignment cups on threeor all four corners for added stability.

Referring to FIG. 6, a free-standing display case 500 constructed from aplurality of containers in accordance with an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention is shown. Four containers 100 a, 100 b, 100 c, 100d (shown without material in them for clarity) are stacked vertically tocreate a display case for placing the material on display to thecustomer. While the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 uses fourcontainers, it is understood that any number of containers could be usedto build the display case 500. The case 500 is constructed by placing afirst container 100 a on the floor, and then stacking one or morecontainers on top of the first container 100 a. A second container 100 bsits on top of the landing regions 407 a, 407 b, 407 c, 407 d of thefirst container 100 a. Two alignment cups 409 a, 409 b of the firstcontainer retain the second container 100 b in proper position.Additional containers 100 c, 100 d are stacked in the same manner tocomplete the display case 500.

The containers 100 a, 100 b, 100 c, 100 d may be used to ship variousmaterial from the manufacturer or distributor to a retail location.Thus, when a container arrives at the retail location, it is alreadyfilled with the items (e.g., decorative ribbon, cord, tape, etc) thatthe retailer wishes to display. The lightweight yet sturdy constructionof the containers allow the retailer to quickly and easily stack severalcontainers as shown in FIG. 6 and create an aesthetically pleasingfree-standing display that allows easy access to the customer of all theitems within the containers. Additionally, once the items in one or morecontainers are completely sold, the container can be quickly removed anddiscarded while the remaining containers can be easily re-stacked toagain form a free-standing display case.

A second exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS.7-9. As is particularly identified in FIG. 7, a container 700 is showncomprising a frame, preferably made of wire, having a front 730, a back732, a top 734, a bottom 736 and two sides 738, 739. The front, back,top, bottom, and two sides of the container form a multi-layer enclosurein which layers of material, such as spools of decorative ribbon, arestored. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7-9, the container includesfive layers 701, 702, 703, 704, 705. It is, however, understood thatvarious numbers of layers could be used. Each layer of the multilayercontainer is constructed in a similar fashion to that described abovewith respect to a single layer container, and functions in a similarfashion to a single layer container, as described above. Each layer hasa slanted floor (707, 708, 709, 710, 711) which cause material stored ineach layer to roll forwards towards a front opening in each layer (715,716, 717, 718, 719). In a manner similar to that described above for asingle layer container, each front opening (715, 716, 717, 718, 719) hasa retaining member (720, 721, 722, 723, 724) that extends across thefront opening to keep items contained within the container from rollingout.

The multilayer container differs from the single layer container inthat, because of its size, it is designed to be restocked by a vendorrather than to be disposable once the items stored within it are sold.While multi-layer containers may be designed to include the featuresdescribed above to allow for stacking (e.g., in cases where it may bedesirable to stack two or more multi-layer containers in order toachieve a container with still more layers than encompassed in any onemulti-layer container), the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG. 7 doesnot show such features and is not intended to be stackable.

The present invention allows for efficient display of materials such asribbon, cord, etc. in the same container in which the materials arereceived. Previously labor intensive steps such as unpacking thematerial, building display units such as shelves or bins, and organizingthe material on the display units are all eliminated by the distributionand display system in accordance with the present invention. The designof the individual containers provide for a sturdy yet lightweightcontainer that allows for automatic replacement of the forward mostindividual spools of material when a spool is removed from the front ofthe container. Stacking several containers allows for an aestheticallypleasing, free-standing display to be easily assembled. For thesereasons, among others, the distribution and display system in accordancewith the present invention provides a marked improvement overdistribution and display methods used in the prior art.

The present invention also provides larger, multi-layer containers whichare still relatively lightweight and also allow for automaticreplacement of the forward most individual spools of material when aspool is removed from the front of the container, but are also capableof being restocked with additional material and reused.

A variety of modifications to the embodiments described will be apparentto those skilled in the art from the disclosure provided herein. Thus,the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and,accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, ratherthan to the foregoing specification, as indicating the scope of theinvention.

1. A display container comprising: an enclosure for enclosing aplurality of cylindrical items having: a first and a second sideretaining walls, a rear retaining wall coupled to said first and secondside retaining walls, a front side having a front opening, and aninclined floor, wherein an item stored within said container will beurged toward said front opening due to the incline.
 2. The container asset forth in claim 1, wherein said inclined floor further comprises aninclined floor support grid; and a flooring member residing on saidinclined floor support grid.
 3. The container as set forth in claim 1,further comprising a front retaining member coupled to said first andsaid second side retaining walls and extending across said front side.4. A container as set forth in claim 3, further comprising a pluralityof dividing members extending from said rear retaining wall to saidfront retaining member.
 5. A container as set forth in claim 1, furthercomprising a plurality of landing regions located in a plurality ofcorners formed where said side retaining walls are coupled to said rearretaining wall and said front side.
 6. A container as set forth in claim5, further comprising a plurality of positioning cups coupled to one ormore of said plurality of landing regions.
 7. The container as set forthin claim 1, wherein said container is disposable.
 8. A display rackcomprising a plurality of containers as set forth in claim
 1. 9. Amethod for displaying a plurality of items of decorative materialcomprising the steps of: receiving said plurality of items in adisposable wire frame container, said container providing access to anitem via a front opening in said wire frame container, wherein said wireframe container is configured to urge said items toward said frontopening; and using said wire frame container to display said items in aretail environment.
 10. The method as set forth in claim 9, furthercomprising the step of stacking a plurality of said wire framecontainers to form a free-standing display.
 11. A multi-layer displaycontainer comprising: an wire enclosure for enclosing a plurality ofcylindrical items, said enclosure having a plurality of layers, eachlayer comprising: a first and a second side retaining walls, a rearretaining wall coupled to said first and second side retaining walls, afront side having a front opening, and an inclined floor, wherein anitem stored within said enclosure will be urged toward said frontopening due to the inclined floor.
 12. The container as set forth inclaim 11, wherein said inclined floor of each layer further comprises aninclined floor support grid; and a flooring member residing on saidinclined floor support grid.
 13. The container as set forth in claim 11,wherein each layer further comprises a front retaining member coupled tosaid first and said second side retaining walls and extending acrosssaid front side.
 14. A container as set forth in claim 13, wherein eachlayer further comprises a plurality of dividing members extending fromsaid rear retaining wall to said front retaining member.